Tommy Chen wins For Rangers Kenya ultramarathon

Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Taiwanese ultramarathon runner Tommy Chen (陳彥博) finished first in the men's division of the 230-kilometer For Rangers Ultra in Kenya on Friday.

Chen completed the five-day race, which started at 8 a.m. local time on Sept. 2, in a time of 21 hours and 18 minutes.

Participants had to run approximately 42.195 kilometers a day, equivalent to a marathon, Chen shared on his Facebook page, where he also documented his five-day journey in several posts, noting down daily progress and challenges.

According to Chen, the athletes not only faced challenges from the changing climate, high altitudes and diverse terrain, but many sections of the route required both hands and feet to traverse.

Additionally, they ran through a wildlife reserve, where numerous wild animals roamed freely. Athletes had to stay alert for the possible appearance of lions, elephants, giraffes and other wildlife.

At one point, three lions were just 200 meters away from Chen and another two athletes, he said.

In addition to the environmental and climate challenges, Chen also experienced gastrointestinal discomfort after taking anti-malaria medication before the race, which made it difficult for him to sleep at night.

He even got lost at one point and ran an extra 2 km on the fourth day.

Chen was in the lead at the end of each day while on the fifth and final day of the race, he initially fell behind American Ken Rideout and Russian Evgenii Ustiugov.

Chen, however, clawed back and overtook the pair with 8 km to go to win the ultramarathon.

Ustiugov finished second with a time of 21 hours and 28 minutes while Rideout finished third with a time of 22 hours and 47 minutes.